A new education and qualification structure was introduced in Sweden on 1 July 2007, due to the Bologna Process. New regulations began to apply for qualifications. In brief, they entail that:

Qualifications are divided into three levels: Bachelor (first cycle), Master (second cycle) and doctoral (third cycle). To get a Master’s degree, you must first have received a Bachelor’s degree. Qualifications are stated in credits, with one academic year being worth 60 credits. They have a precise credit value – for example, a Bachelor’s degree is exactly 180 credits.

The qualifications that can be awarded by each higher education institution is decided by the government and regulated in the Swedish System of Qualifications. Each higher education institution has local rules that, for example, state the name and specialisation of the degree and which main fields of study there are. This means that the requirements for a particular qualification may very between different higher education institutions.

Local System of Qualifications for General Qualifications Pdf, 205.3 kB.